The Left would have made Hitler their hero today. As it was, they liked Mao and Stalin.
Obama, without admitting as much, (it would have offended some of his base), modeled much of his campaign tactics in 2008, after Hitler's. (See Leftwing Chickens Coming Home.)
It is the failure of the main stream media to actually analyze phenomena or the approach of candidates, which made his success possible. But the similarities are not mere coincidence.